Man jailed after trial in Morris County for kidnapping and raping his ex

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A man found guilty of raping his ex-girlfriend in his car and then transporting her through several communities in Morris County will spend several decades in prison, a judge has ruled.

A jury on Feb. 2 found Jesse Meneses, a former Dover resident, guilty on all counts related to the 2021 sexual assault and kidnapping. Last week, the 38-year-old was sentenced to a total of 40 years in New Jersey State Prison, prosecutors said.

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Officials said Meneses sexually assaulted the woman in his vehicle in Randolph on Sept. 5, 2021. He then held her captive and drove her from Randolph, through Victory Gardens and eventually to Dover, prosecutors said.

There, the victim managed to escape and report the incident to the police. Members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Endangerment Unit and the Dover and Randolph police began the investigation.

Between April and October 2022, officials said, Meneses also “communicated with family members to contact the victim and persuade her to change her version of events or withdraw the criminal complaint.”

He must serve 32 years and three months of the sentence before being eligible for parole. He must also register as a sex offender and be on parole supervision for life.

The jury found Meneses guilty on the following counts: three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, three counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of third-degree aggravated sexual assault, three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, one count of third-degree terroristic threatening, one count of third-degree witness tampering, and one count of conspiracy to commit third-degree witness tampering.